Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ...
left Dhaka for London yesterday for treatment.
An Emirates Airlines flight carrying Khaleda left Shahjalal airport at 9:30pm while hundreds of leaders waved their hands outside the airport, said Shamsuddin Didar, an official of Khaleda's press wing.
Khaleda was accompanied by her younger brother Shamim Eskander and his wife Kaniz Fatema; her Personal Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar and house maid Fatema Akhter.
This is Khaleda's second visit to the UK after 2006. She is likely to spend Eid-ul-Adha with her family members in London.
Khaleda's elder son Tarique Rahman
...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is
Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office...
has now been living in London with his family members since 2007. He is facing a number of graft and criminal cases.
Khaleda and Tarique met last year when she went to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
for Umrah.
This will be their first meeting since Khaleda's younger son Arafat Rahman Coco died of cardiac arrest in January this year.
Khaleda was supposed to meet Tarique in Saudi Arabia for Umrah during the last Ramadan but the reunion fell through as she had cancelled the visit in the last moment.
A number of BNP leaders said Coco's wife Sharmila Rahman Sithi and her two daughters Jahiya Rahman and Jaisa Rahman were likely to fly to London from Thailand to spend the Eid together.